Falling
by becc-gallanter
Summary: Thrown into the vicous world of Socs and Greasers, Isabel Zuko had no time to adjust. To everyone, she seemed to fit the bill of a Soc the minute she arrived. But every cloud has its silver lining, and in her case, the silver lining was Ponyboy Curtis.
1. prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Dedication: this story is dedicate to my new friend Hayley, my best friend Rachel, and my friend Katie.

"I had a really good time," said Isabel to the boy that she had had a crush on for a while now. Obviously, he felt the same way, because he had been the one who had asked her out on a date.

"So did I," he said as they both stepped in to be closer to each other, then the boy put his hand gently on her cheek.

"Isabel, Isabel," her vision started to go blurry until it was completely black. Then the outline of a tall blond woman came into view and Isabel recognized the woman to be her mother.

"Come on sweetheart, you need to get up," Isabel Zuko sat up drowsily in bed. Today would be her first day at a new school district, and she was extremely nervous. Her and her parents had just moved to Oklahoma from Iowa. Isabel was 17 and in the 12th grade. Because of her excellent grades she was able to skip a grade.

Isabel slowly got out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed in a jean skirt, with a three quarter length blue shirt. She looked into the mirror and brushed her hair dirty blond curly hair. She was about average height, and had deep ocean blue eyes.

She walked downstairs to see her mother sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

" Here honey. There is some Cheerios in the cupboard honey." He mother said smiling.

" Umm, no thanks mom. I am really nervous, and I don't really feel like eating." Isabel said.

Her mother eyed her skeptically " Honey, you really need to eat a little bit of something. Maybe just an apple or a banana?" her mother kindly suggested.

" Ok. I will." Isabel said as she grabbed an apple off of the table. She knew her mother was right, she needed to eat to calm her nerves down a bit.

" You ready to go sweetheart?" her dad asked her.

" Ready as I'll ever be." Isabel said getting up and grabbing her backpack.

The car ride there was pretty much a one way conversation, her dad was talking about something and asking her questions and she nodded to be polite, but she wasn't really listening. She saw a young boy that caught her eye. He looked about her age. Maybe older.

"Goodbye." her dad said interrupting her thoughts on the boy.

"Goodbye daddy. I'll see you later today." Isabel said.

Isabel looked at the long narrow path to the high school, and started walking down it...

a/n: I know it was short but I had a lot of trouble getting started and if it wasn't for my friend Hayley. I will try to do better with the next chapter!


	2. the meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.  
  
Dedication: This story is dedicated to my new friend Hayley, my best friend Rachel, and my friend Katie.  
  
Told in Pony's P.O.V  
  
I sat in homeroom reading Gone with the Wind for about the hundredth time now.  
  
"Excuse me, but is this seat taken?" I looked up to see a girl standing there. I studied her carfully. Gosh, she sure was pretty. She was about average height, and she had dirty blond curly hair.  
  
"Oh, no.. umm.. go ahead," I said stuttering. The girl sat down and took out a book.  
  
"I have never seen you around here before, are you new?" the girl nodded.  
  
"My family and I just moved here from Iowa, my name is Isabel Zuko,"  
  
"I'm Ponyboy Curtis,"  
  
"That's a nice name,"  
  
"Ya, my dad was kind of eccentric. I have a brother named Sodapop," I began to say, but just then the bell rang and the class started to file in.  
  
* * * * * *still pony's P.O.V* * * * * * *  
  
"So have you seen that new chick?" I was standing by my locker with my friend Dave Collins, well David but every one calls him Dave. I nodded, I really did not want to go into this with Dave, because he had a reputation of talking badly about girls (have I seen that new girl? She was all I could see today). * * * * * *Isabel's P.O.V* * * * * * *  
  
I walked out the door of the school and started to walk home.  
  
"Hey," I looked up to see Ponyboy standing there. Pony had been the one and only person who had actually been nice and talked to me. Everyone else just kind of stared. Whether they were staring at me because they thought I was pretty, or because they thought that I was ugly, I couldn't tell.  
  
"Hey," I said.  
  
"How was your first day?" he smiled at me.  
  
"Good," my stomach gave a small flutter. Why was it doing that? But gosh, he had a great smile.  
  
"Isabel?" I jerked out of my daze. I liked the way he said my name.  
  
"Yeah?" I tried to stay calm and not to do anything stupid.  
  
" Well, I am heading this way, I'll see you tomorrow," he grinned and walked off. I found myself staring after him. See me tomorrow, you bet that you would see me tomorrow. I thought to myself. Was it just beginners luck or had I actually made a friend?  
  
TBC.... 


	3. brace yourself

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.  
  
Dedication: this story is dedicated to my new friend Hayley, my best friend Rachel, and my friend Katie.  
  
Pony's P.O.V  
  
The next day, I walked into the cafeteria and saw Isabel sitting alone at a table reading. I slowly walked over to her.  
  
"Can I sit here?" I asked. She smiled up at me and nodded, so I sat down next to her, "What are you reading?"  
  
"Les Miserables,"  
  
"Oh, I have read that. It is a really good book if you can stand how much he goes into things," Isabel smiled.  
  
"Yeah, as my mother and I like to say, he likes to hear himself write," she said giggling.  
  
Later that day I sat in English class, listening to my teacher, Mrs. Roth explain the project that we were assigned to do.  
  
"You can either work individually or with a partner. What you need to do is pick two classic books. For each book you need to write a four page report on why you like or do not like the novels. Also any other information that you find out while reading," Mrs. Roth said.  
  
* * end of class * *  
  
"Isabel, do you want to work with me on this project?" I asked nervously.  
  
"Sure," she said as we walked to our lockers, "what books should we do?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I know that Gone with the Wind is a classic. Have you read that?" I asked.  
  
" Yes, of course I have," she said smiling. Her smile was beautiful. Her whole personality is just... wow. "And how about... Les Miserables?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, that would be great," I said.  
  
"Do you want to come over my house so that we can get started?" she asked.  
  
"Okay, let me just get my stuff from my locker and then we can go," I walked to my locker. After I packed up my bag, I walked back to Isabel. She was just closing her locker as I walked over to her.  
  
"Are you ready?" she asked.  
  
"Yep, I just have to call my brothers to tell them I won't be home right away." I said.  
  
"All right, that's fine." She said as we walked out of the school and went to the pay phone that was outside the school. I put in the money and dialed the number of the DX station since I knew that neither Soda nor Darry would be home yet since today was Tuesday and they both had to work late on Tuesdays.  
  
"Hello?" came Soda's voice over the phone.  
  
"Hey Soda, listen when you see Darry could you tell him that I am not going to be home for a while?"  
  
"Yeah, sure kid. Where are you going?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Over to my friend Isabel's house to work on a project,"  
  
"Okay, just call when you are ready to be picked up,"  
  
"Thanks Soda." I said and hung up the phone.  
  
"You ready?" Isabel said as she put her backpack on her back and we headed for her house. It was about a 20 minute walk to her house. When we got there we walked onto the front porch. She was about to open the door when she turned around and face me.  
  
"Let me just worn you that my family can usually be weird when they want to be. My mom is usually okay, but my brother and my dad are another story," she said.  
  
"What do they do?" I asked chuckling nervously.  
  
"Oh, don't be nervous or anything, they are just constantly making wise cracks and fooling around," she said.  
  
I laughed lightly "Okay."  
  
"Well, brace yourself," she said as we walked in.  
  
a/n: Well what did you think? I am going to need to get some reviews before I update again. Thanks. 


	4. Dinner and a Movie

"Falling" This chapter is written by Sandra Athrenael.  
  
Chapter 4-Dinner and a Movie (What? I couldn't come up with anything creative, I'm sorry!)  
  
::Isabel's POV::  
  
We walked into the foyer, and I led Pony to the kitchen where my mom was cooking tonight's dinner.  
  
"Hey mom." I said, alerting her that I was home. She turned around, a smile on her face.  
  
"Hey Izzy! How was school?" She paused mid sentence. "Who's this?" She asked, gesturing to Ponyboy.  
  
"This is Ponyboy, mom. He's my friend from school. He came here to work on a project with me." Ponyboy shook my mother's hand.  
  
"That's such an unusual name, Ponyboy, is it your real one?" Mom asked. I groaned.  
  
"Yes ma'am, my father was a bit of an eccentric. I have a brother named Sodapop also." He told her. She laughed, turning back to her cooking.  
  
"Ok, well I won't hold you up any longer. You two go work on your project. Ponyboy, do you want to stay for dinner?" I saw him fidget nervously, his hands in his pockets. "I'll take that as a yes, and by the way Ponyboy, we're happy to have you here." She finished.  
  
Pony smiled timidly, and I grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs.  
When we were in my room, Pony regained his voice and said, "Your mom  
is really nice." I laughed.  
  
"Try living with her." I mumbled. "So, uh, let's get started on the  
project." I suggested. Ponyboy nodded and reached for his backpack,  
pulling out "Gone With the Wind". He sat down on my bed, glancing at  
my poster covered walls in awe. The time seemed to pass quickly once  
we were started, and Pony grew less and less shy, which is funny,  
because as the minutes passed I grew more and more close to him as  
well.  
  
* * *  
  
IxI Dinner IxI  
  
::Pony's POV::  
  
When Isabel and I walked down the stairs, I could already smell the aroma of food. I was used to it of course, my brothers and I being chefs, but this was different somehow. Maybe it was because a mom was cooking it. As we entered the dining room, Mrs. Zuko was placing steaming plates of food on the table.  
  
"Looks good." I told her. She beamed at me and pointed to a chair.  
  
"You can sit there, Ponyboy, right next to Isabel." I hear Isabel groan. In my head, I thanked her, because I would've felt uncomfortable sitting next to anyone else. I sat down, Isabel to my left, and rested my hands in my lap, twiddling my thumbs.  
  
"Sorry about my mom, Pony." She said, obviously embarrassed.  
  
"No, uh, no, she's really nice." I stuttered. I really meant it too, I just wasn't good at saying these things. Suddenly the front door opened, and Isabel's father and brother walked in. Mrs. Zuko came to the door and hugged her husband.  
  
"Hey babe." He said, kissing her cheek. Then he looked at me and Isabel. "Hey Izzy, who's that?" He said, pointing at me curiously.  
  
"Dad, this is Ponyboy Curtis. He came here to work on a project for school." I stood up hastily and stuck out my hand. To my relief, Mr. Zuko shook it, smiling.  
  
"Well, I'm glad to see you made a friend so soon, Izzy." He said, facing his daughter. I looked at Isabel's brother. He was staring at me, a sour look on his face. I brushed it off, and figured he was probably just overprotective and didn't like the idea of Isabel hanging out with a boy. Isabel's dad sat down, and dinner started. The food was wonderful, but every so often the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up, and I would look up to find Isabel's brother glaring at me.  
  
I couldn't figure out what would make him dislike me so much. When dinner was over, Isabel and I went back up to her room. It felt kind of awkward for me to be all alone in a room with a girl. We sat down on her bed and she smiled. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. "Dinner was good." I said, struggling to think of something else to say.  
  
She laughed. "Pony loosen up, you look so nervous!" I smiled anxiously, and fiddled with my hand. I hate being shy, I really do, I haven't even had one girlfriend yet because of it. Isabel locked eyes with me, and my heart stopped beating. She had the nicest eyes I had ever seen. Suddenly I felt words building up in my throat, fighting to escape.  
  
"Uh, Isabel?" I started. She listened, a smile on her face still. "Do you, I mean, D'you wanna go out with me sometime? Like, to the drive in or something." She paused for a minute before answering. For a whole agonizing minute, I thought she would say no, and I flustered. What if she said no? "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to I just thought-" She put her hand over my mouth to shut me up.  
  
"I'd love to Pony, it sounds like a date. How about Friday? Is 7:00 a good time for you to come pick me up?" I just stared. Did she really just say yes? My heart decided to beat again, but now it was very fast, and made it hard to breath. I grinned widely, mouthing her words.  
  
"It sounds like a date, then." I echoed. Isabel pulled me into a hug, and I stood there awkwardly for a moment before putting my arms around her. She pulled away.  
  
"You'd better start going home." She suggested. I nodded numbly, and collected my stuff. She walked me to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Ponyboy." She called after me as I walked away.  
  
As I walked home, it seemed like all my thoughts, no, my whole brain, was consumed by Isabel. 


	5. The date

Chapter 5- (this chapter is written by Sandra Athrenael)

Pony's POV  
  
It was Friday night, the night of our date. I was nervous as hell, but I didn't want to seem that way in front of Isabel. I put on my jeans with no holes in them, and my best t-shirt. I put some extra grease in my hair to keep it back and headed over to Isabel's. With each step I grew more and more anxious. When I was at her doorbell, my heart was hammering against my chest. I rang her doorbell quickly, and heard footsteps coming down the stairs.  
  
Isabel opened the door, her eyes shining. Her hair had been curled towards the ends, falling in soft spirals around her shoulders. It looked really soft.  
  
"You look great." I told her softly, taking her hand. I was surprised I had managed to squeak out a full sentence! She smiled wider.  
  
"Thanks. You look pretty good yourself." She said, moving closer to me. Our hands were still locked, I noticed. Her slender, long fingers laced between my rough, clumsy ones.  
  
We walked to the drive in and sat down in the forst row of seats.  
  
"I'll get some popcorn." I said stiffly, shooting up and releasing her hand.  
  
"Ok." She replied calmly. I wondered how she could be so laid back while I was practically falling apart from nerves.  
  
When I got back, I saw to my horror Soda sitting next to Isabel, talking casually with her. I ran over.  
  
"Soda, what are you doing?" I asked, giving him a look.  
  
"Calm down Pony, we were just talking." Isabel said, laughing. "I'm glad we met. He's funny."  
  
Soda smiled. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone now." He practically sang, rising from my seat and leaning close to my ear. "She's quite a catch." He whispered.  
  
I punched him gently in the arm. "Shut up Soda." When he left, I sat down, a bit more comfortable. "I see you met my brother." I said dully.  
  
She laughed again. "Yes I did. He's nice. Reminded me of you." I smiled at that.  
  
"Well, we are related." Then the movie started, and the audience quieted. I think it was a comedy, but I hardly paid attention. Every so often I would catch myself looking over at Isabel. I liked the way the corners of her mouth turned up, and the way her shoulders shook when she laughed.  
  
She noticed me staring and turned her head so she was looking at me. "What?" She asked softly. I suddenly felt a strong urge to kiss her. So all in a second's time, I leaned forward and gave her a small peck on the lips. It wasn't anything big, but it was special.  
  
Isabel sat there shocked, then finally regained her voice. "What was that for?" She asked, not in a disgusted kind of voice, but in a soft, shocked kind of way.  
  
I felt all the blood rush to my cheeks. "I dunno." I admitted.  
  
"It was nice." She smiled at me.  
  
"It was." I agreed. Isabel moved closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her, my head spinning. I felt like I was on a cloud, and now I couldn't pay attention to anything but her.  
  
When the date was over, I walked her home, holding her hand the whole way. When we reached her house, she squeezed my hand, sending a shiver down my spine.  
  
"Here it is, Thanks Ponyboy. I had a good time." All I could do was nod. She let go of my hand and walked up the steps, blowing me a final kiss goodbye before she disappeared into her house. 


	6. Coming Home

**a/n: I am so sorry that it took so long to get this up, I have had a lot to trouble with it and also I had a lot of stuff going on with school. So here you go, enjoy.  
Also, italic phrases means peoples thoughts.**

* * *

**  
Isabel's P.O.V**

I opened the door and stepped into the house. Alex was sitting in the living room holding a bottle of beer in his hand. _'Since when do mom and dad let him drink?_' I thought to myself.

"Hey." I said walking into the room and sitting down next to him on the couch

"Hey." He said as he stared, blankly into space

"Where are mom and dad?"

"Out." he lifted the bottle up to his lips and took a large swig from it.

_God what is wrong with him lately? He is never this cold towards me, and we always get along so well. Sure, we fought, but that's what is generally expected between siblings, he's never treated me like this!_

"What is going on with you?" I demanded.

"What?" he asked, looking at me for the first time since I had gotten home.

"You haven't been acting like yourself lately, what is going on with you?" I pressed further.

"Nothing, but let me ask you something." He turned his head toward me. "How would you feel if I was going out with someone that you knew could really ruin my life?"

"Well, I would tell you, of course. What kind of a sister do you take me for?" I said indignantly, wondering where he was going with this.

"What kind of a brother do you take _me_ for?" he slurred. At this point I was beyond confusion.

"What the hell do you mean?" I almost yelled.

"It's Ponyboy...he's not like us." Alex smirked.

"What do you mean, not like us?" I stood and placed my hands on my hips, my eyes brimming with tears.

"I mean, he's a greaser." Alex said coldly. I didn't like the tone in his voice, it spelled trouble.

"Shut up Alex, he's one of my friends. I really like him."

"Then make new friends. You've done it before." He took another swig of beer.

"You know, just because _you_ don't like him doesn't mean that he's not a good person." With that I ran up to my bedroom and slammed the door behind me.

_Pony is a good person, and I know he really cares about me...and that is all that really matters._

**

* * *

Pony's P.O.V **

As I walked up the path, I could already hear the TV blasting and Two-bit's laughter. I walked into the house to see Soda, Two-bit, and Steve lazing around on the couch.

_Surprise, surprise._

"So, how did it go?" asked Soda, getting up and rustling my hair. I fought off his hand and dodged out of the way.

"Good." I nearly whispered.

"Did you run into any trouble?" He asked protectively. _Darry was really rubbing off on him._

"No." I replied simply.

"That's good." He murmured, sitting back down on the couch.

"So, runt, did you get any action?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. I could sense all eyes on me. I felt all my blood rush to my cheecks.

"Just a kiss." I whispered, not looking up

"Tongue?" Two-bit threw in, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

"No!" I exclaimed, stepping back angrily.

"Well why the hell not!" Two-Bit whined.

"Two-bit!" I paused, my cheeks growing redder still. "It's our first date."

"So...?"

"So, that aint something I'm going to do on a first date."

"Why? I would." He gave Steve a high-five, and they both broke out laughing.

"Exactly." Me and Soda said simultaneously.

"Don't get mouthy with me Pony." Two-bit drawled. I could tell he was half crocked.

"Lay off Two-bit, it's his first date." Darry yelled form the kitchen.

"Naw, he's been on plenty of dates." Soda said, trying to stick up for me.

"Yeah, but just doubles and maybe picking up some girls at the dingo, but never a real date." I said indignantly, suddenly wondering why I had thought mentioning that would help the situation.

"Whatever you say, your highness." Soda got off the couch and bowed. I let out a strangled yell and pounced on him, wrestling him to the floor.

"Shoot Pony," Soda said between gasps, "You should go on dates more often. You aint usually this strong." He let out a few puffs of laughter.

"Quit gabbing Soda or it'll be your head." I yelled triumphantly, putting him into a headlock.

"I SURRENDER!" he choked, letting go of my hair. I dropped his head real quick and hopped up, dusting myself off.

"Hey, maybe I will go on more dates." I said fixing my hair back behind my ears. "So you better watch it, or else." I slapped Soda lightly on the shoulder. We both flopped down on the couch, and I lit up a cigarette, deaf to Darry's constant moaning about it.

All the while I couldn't help thinking…_will I be going on another date with Isabel?_

A shriek of Two-bit's laughter interrupted my thoughts before I could dream up a good answer.

**

* * *

A/N: I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry it took so long to update. I want to thank all of you guys that have stuck with me, and next time I will really try to get the next ********chapter written faster.**


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